When a wireless local area network (WLAN) is operating in an infrastructure mode or a mesh mode, each of the access points (APs) operating within the BSSs of the WLAN communicate with one or more wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs), (i.e., wireless stations), associated with the APs. The APs and the associated WTRUs communicate with each other by sending and receiving packets over a given channel. In typical deployments in the un-licensed spectrum, there may be one or more APs operating on the same channel. In such cases, it may be necessary to adjust both power and frequency settings to improve the system performance by reducing interference and the number of deferrals.
One metric used to aid in adjusting the power level and frequency setting is the level of activity on the given channel. To determine the level of activity on the given channel, it is advantageous for the APs to process all of the packets received on the same channel from the neighboring BSSs.